Right angle D-faced electrical connectors are used in the electronics industry as an input/output (I/O) device to interconnect a computer to external peripheral equipment. The contacts of the electrical connector are typically soldered to conductive traces on a printed circuit board at a back wall or panel of the computer. A conductive shell surrounding the contacts in the housing of the connector is frequently used as a shield to protect against electromagnetic or radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI). A conductive locking clip is often used to retain the connector on the printed circuit board for soldering the contacts by a conventional wave soldering process. The locking clip further serves as a means to connect a ground trace on the printed circuit board to the conductive shell of the connector. The front face of the connector, in addition to having the D-face for polarization, typically includes latching structure for mating with a complementary electrical connector which is attached to the peripheral equipment.
With respect to such latching structure, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,125 (Waters, et al), due to the prospect of repeated mating and unmating of the right angle D-connector to the complementary connector, it is preferable that the latches on the connector be formed of metal, such as a cast metal, rather than plastic which may be susceptible to failures. In the Waters, et al patent, not only the latches, but the entire connector housing is integrally formed of a cast metal, thus complicating the shielding of the electrical contacts in the connector. Individual metal latching blocks, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,937 (Cosmos, et al) are also used for attachment to a mating complementary connector. While individual latching blocks may be more cost effective and less complicated than a one-piece housing with latches, attention must be provided in securing the latching blocks to the connector in a manner that would properly align its latches and prevent rotation thereof so that attachment to the complementary connector may be properly made.
As to the locking clip that is used as a ground commoning element and as a means to retain the connector to a printed circuit board during contact soldering, such a clip is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,473 (DelGuidice, et al). It is noted by DelGuidice, et al that alignment of the connector on the printed circuit board is desirable in order to properly interconnect to the mating complementary connector without placing undue stress on the circuit board connections. In this regard, the locking clip typically includes resiliently deformable legs that are frictionally received in openings in a printed circuit board. Due to the resistive force accompanying the insertion of the resilient legs into the board openings, it is desirable to prevent the locking clip from experiencing excessive bending that would result in misaligned or improper mounting of the connector to the printed circuit board.